TGIF – Hang your clothes out to dry

Sun season has sprung, there’s no better time to set up your clothesline. For as little as $20, you can have a wind and solar power station. All it takes is a little string and a tree. Our kids sure generate a lot of dirty laundry – especially if they’re wearing cloth diapers. You could very well be doing a load every day, and twice on Sundays. Washing and drying clothes can be very energy intensive, so this weekend set up carbon-free drying system.

In addition to helping prevent global warming pollution, there are more reasons to line-dry outside: the sun is nature’s Clorox®. According to Lou Bloomfield, author of How Everything Works: Making Physics out of the Ordinary, “Exposure to sunlight was the traditional way to bleach fabrics and make them white.” The sun’s ultraviolet rays are antiseptic and can kill some bacteria. Giving all those diapers, clothes, bibs and wipes a good, long day out in the sun and wind – ahhh, freshness you can’t get from a bottle.

To get started, think like a Grandma. Decide whether you want an indoor line or to hang your clothes al fresco. With many designs to choose from, you can find the perfect line for your life. With a big backyard, you can sink a T-post out in the back 40. Just have a postage-stamp yard? Put up a 4-arm. For a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t design, pick a retractable unit. Clothesline.com has the best selection. I use the Retractable Single Line reel from my porch to my fence.

I use wooden clothespins, but plastic ones are available. If you choose wood, keep them out of the rain as they can mildew. You can dry clothes outdoors in just about any weather except, of course, actual rain. Even if it’s not sunny, as long as there’s a good breeze, your clothes will dry in a few hours. If they don’t, you can still pop them in the dryer for a little while – 15 minutes or so. At least you still reduce the amount of power-drying.

Indoor racks and lines work well too, and they have the added bonus of increasing your indoor humidity, another healthy benefit for your family.

With a little planning, and a few extra minutes a day, your clothes can be cleaner, fresher, and last longer; you can save money on electric and gas bills; and you can check off one more thing on your “Save the Planet” To Do list.